Type-writer erasing device.



W. KLINE. TYPE WRITER ERASING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE as, 1913.1,108,994. -Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

- 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1. 43 v J3 J3 J4 W. KLINE. TYPE WRITER ERASING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26, 1913. 1,108,994, Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

' :mda in the State of Virginia,-have inventicense. I

To all whom it may concern:

" ITEi) STATES PATENT OF l KLINE, 0F WOODSTOCK, VIRGINIA, ASSIGN'OR 0EONE-HALF '10 WILLIAM J. MOORE, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF (.'IOL'[J'.TM[BI.A-

TYPE-WRITER EnAsING DEVICE.

Be it known that I, WILLIAMKLINE, of lVoodsto'ck, in the county ofShenandoah,

ed a certain new and useful Improv ment in Type-Writer- Erasing Devices,an do hereby declare that the foll wing is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof.

My invention relates to erasing devices forming part of, or being anattachment to a typewriting machine, by means of which the erasure ofprinted characters may be effected while the paper is still upon theplaten, so that changes or corrections can be easily and expeditiouslymade. A device for this purpose, to be acceptable, must involve nointerference with the use of the typewriting machine nor require any al:

terat'ion or modification of the .machinestructure; and it must beeasy'and convenient of use or manipulation and of doing the work desiredquickly and efficiently, and the object of my invention is to provide anerasing device possessing these qualities and others which will appearhereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings- -Figure 1' is a vertical section fromfront to rear of a typewriting machine equipped with an embodiment of myinvention, the device being shown in position for an erasingoperation,but only a fragment of the typewriting machine being shown; Fig. 2 is atop plan view thereof, but a portion of the typewritthe drawings hasbeen adapted, is of the ing machine being shown; Fig. 3 is a view invertical section of my erasing device shown separated from thetypewritin ma chine and on a larger scale than Fig. 1; Fig. 4.1 a detailvertical section on the line 4l of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a detail verticalsection taken on, a different plane than Fig. 4; Fig. 5*. is a detailview on an enlarged scale showing the rotary eraser pivoting means; Fig.6 is a detail cross section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3; Fig. 7 *is adetail view in section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 4. 5

The' typewriting machine, to which the embodiment of my inventionillustrated in visible writing type, and it needs only a' generaldescription, especially since, as l have already explained, nomodificati on or alteration, of the typewr1t1ng'mach1ne is required withmy lllVQIltlOIl" since, indeed,

' Specification of Letters Patent.

one of itsobjects is to avoid the necessity of alteration ormodification of the typewritmg machine structure. It is, therefore,

suflicient .to say of the typewriting machine shown that it has a frame10 and a roller platen 11, these parts being mentioned in particular tofacilitate the description of 'i-- mounting and operation of theerasing, device.

Generally described, my erasing device comprises in its preferable forma rotatable disk of rubber, means for rotating the disk while in contactwith the paper on the platen and a jointed support for the partsmentioned by which the same may be'moved into and out of position for anerasin operation, while supported with such sti ness or rigidity fromthe machine frame as will enable the action of the diskeraser only onthe character it is desired to erase.

It will be understood that my invention may be embodied in a formpermitting of Patented Sept. 1, 1914. Application filed June 26, 1913.Serial No. 775,977.

its rigid attachment to typewriting machines already made as by the useof a suitable clamping device for the attach-' 'ment of the support toapart of themachine frame, or the latter, preferred, may beprovided-inits original construction with such frame member as may benecessaryfor the mounting of the eraser mechanism upon the machine. Theembodiment of my in vention illustrated, in the drawings isone in. theform of an attachment for machines constructed without reference to theemployment of my erasing mechanism there-l with. J

The jointed support comprises a post 12 standing vertically at the rearof the typewriting machines to the lower frame bar of which it isrigidly clamped as hereinafter described, and an arm 13 which ispivotallv connected to the post 12 at the 'top thereof so that it may beswung to a horizontal p0- ition inwhich it extends forwardly over thetop of the typewriting machine above and-forward of the platen 11, whichis the position when an erasing operation is to be performedor swung toa vertical position so as to place the erasing mechan1smentirely out ofthe way when it is not to be.

used. The post and the swinging arm are preferably constructed ofsquaretubing because such tubing islight and is strong and maybe obtained asstock material and lends" itself ageadily in various ways to theconstruetien-and 'uses of-the parts of the mechanism.

Secured to what is theunderside of the pivoted arm 13, when in ahorizontal posi tion, is a bracket-14: having a transverse pin 15 onwhich is pivoted one end-o'fan arm 16 whose other end has a pivotalsupport for thei'eraser which is preferably in the form of a disk 17 orrubber. As I prefer to. construct it the pivotal support for the eraseris formed by a horizontal pin or stud 18 and a bushin 19 free to turn onthe stud, said bushing eing divided, or split, and having anopposingp'airof axially extending lips 20separated byla slight space. Thebushing' 19, preferably .has an inner sleeve 180 which has contact withthe pivot pin or stud l8 and formsthebearin'g, as best shown in Fig. 5*,the bushing and sleeve being fastened together so that they rotatetogether 380118113366, and they are prevented from endwise movement ofithe pin or stud 18 by a securing in181 which passes through the stud 18an overlaps the end of the sleeve 180; The eraser disk, or rubber, hasupon each of its sides a metal wear plate 21 and perforating the platesand disk at the center is a round hole with a radial offset making a keyhole slot22 which .fits the bushing, and as the opposite sides of theradial slot are engaged by thebush-in lips with some pressure, due tothe ten'ency of said lips tospring outward when the eraser disk isslipped upon ,thebushing, the eraser disk is thereby firmly :held uponthe bushing although the disk may .be readily removed and replaced as bya new disk when this may be desired on account of the reduction ofdiameter of the eraser disk from use. The pivot-forming stud and bushingare supported only at oneend so that an eraser dlfsikraay bereadilyapplied and removed.

'A'iili'advan-tage of the non-circular form oft e bushingpivot whichresults from the presence of the radial lips, is that only an eraserdisk provided with the c0mplemen ta ry hole canbe used so that I am thusable to control or make sure that the disks supplied for use in themechanism shall be proper or suitable to be used.

In the underside of'the swinging arm 13 just above the eraser disk, is aslot or opening 23 through which the upper portion of sa d disk isadapted to project and be in cbntact with the underside of a sliding orreciprocating rod or bar .25 which is supported by said arm softhat bythe sliding movement of said rod, and preferably its inward movement andthe frictional contact thereof with the vperiphery of the disk, thelatter may be rotated or turned for an erasopenation as hereinafterdescribed. At.

its inner end the slide rod 2. bears against one of the coil spring26'whose other iof the p end bears against a cross piece or partition 27in the'arm near its pivot or hinge, said spring being placed around therod 28, which, at one end is attached to said partition andpassesthrough an opening in the end of the push rod 25 (which is madehollow for the purpose). Said rod 28 has a head 29 that snugly fits theinterior of the push rod so that thus a steady guiding means for thepush rod is supplied by said rod 28, while additionally to brace orsupport the push rod from lateral movements it closely fits a guideopening in the outer end wall 30 of the arm 14:, and at its inner endhas a clip form bearing member 31 that engages the inner surface of thetop and sides of the arm 14. The spring 26 acts normally tomove the pushrod outward so that the movement of the push rod to rotate the eraserdisk is inward and against the pressure of the spring and forconveniently pressing or movingit against the pressure of the s ring ithas on its outer end a head 32. djacent the head 32 the rod has anannular groove 31 for engage ment by a spring latch 33.secured to theouter side of the arm 13 and thereby the push rod is latched in aposition Where .it is practically wholly contained within the arm 13 sothat it is out of the way when the eraser is not to be used. Forconvenient lifting of the latch 33 to :free the push rod, it has at itsouter end a cross bar 34, and the outer ends of said cross bar areadapted to be engaged by the tips of the first and second fingers of thehand when the thumbvis applied'to the head on the pushrod to force itinward and thus the hand is supported and steadied against any sidewisetendency which might tend to vibrate the eraser supporting arm 13laterally and interfere with a clean operation of the eraser upon asingle character to be erased. The' spring latch 33 .is attached at itsinner end to the top of the tube 13 by a clip 330 that straddles thetube 13 and is secured thereto by screws 331,

which, at their inner ends project sufficiently into the tube to formstops for engagement by the bearing member 31 to limit the outwardmovement of the push rod 25 under the outward pressure of its spring 26.

Pivoted to a horizontal pin 35 that'passes through the bracket 14, is astrap or plate 36- which has a curved portionthat is concave on itsunderslde and which s curved on an arc of a radius the sameasthe radiusof the arc ofthe platen roller againstavhich said plate is adapted tobear during an erasing operation. Said plate 36 has and down swingingmotion, motion being caused when it a limited up is pressed againstthelplaten and said upward motion is providedso that, by. means of aspring 38 which is placed .under tension by such action atenthe eraserdisk will be moved its v upward 40 ment is also utilized to hold thehousing disk, one end-bearing against the underside with sufficientpressure against the push rod lution or turning of the eraser disk foran erasing operation by that portion of the disk which is incontact withthe paper on the.

platen. The spring 38 is coiled around the pivot of the-arm whichcarries the eraser of said arm and the other end bearing against theplate 36 which by its upward movement tightens the coils of the spring,

and hence, causes the end of the spring which bears against said arm toswing the arm. upward. The plate 36 is extended by a reversed curvebeyond" the point where it needs bear against the platen so as to form ahousing, and in furtherance of this purpose there is attached toeachside of said plate a side-plate 39. which extends sufiiciently' high asalways to overlap the sides of the arm 13 and thus at all times, exceptwhen access to the rubber disk is required, the mechanism below the arm13 is housed.

For the protrusion of that portion of the eraser disk'which is necessaryto give it contact with the paper on the platen, the curved plate '36has a .slot 40; Each of the side members or plates 39 of the housing hasa forwardly extending lug or tongue 41 which is engaged by a lip orflange 42 on a catch 43 slidably mounted on the outer end of the arm 13.When it is desired to release the housing and permit it to be swung toaposition to completely expose the eraser disk, as when a worn disk isto be replaced by a new one, such catch is moved, outward to clearthetongues on the housing side plates. The

' spring latch 33 which is provided to hold the push rod 24 at its innerlimit of movelatch at its inner position, said spring latch 33 beingprovided for this purpose with a downwardly projecting stop or lug 44;

The portion of the. disk rotating .rod 25 which engages the periphery ofthe disk has the form of a groove 45 on the underside of said diskrotating rod 25 so that there are downwardly projecting flanges thatoverlap the opposite sides of the disk at the periphery thereof andthereby .afl'ord a lateral support for the disk at its rim that preventsany wabbling motion thereof and assures that in wearing away theperiphery of the disk willbe'a smooth regular surface in good conditionfor an erasing operation.

An important advantage from the mountingof the eraser disk on a movablesupport, such as the swinging arm 16, is that notwithstandingthedecrease in diameter of the disk in consequence of its use it is alwaysin proper operating engagement with the push .rod so thatsubstantialreduction of the diameter o-fthe diskmay take-place before it requiresto be discarded or thrown away.

Unequal 'wear of the eraser disk, which operation the pressure may bereleased so thattupon the return stroke of the push rod under the actionof the return sprin it will cause no reverse rotation of the dis or atbest only a slight rotation thereof.

The post 12, as I prefer to construct it, comprises two telescopicmembers :or sections, each of square tubing, the hinge connectionbetween the swinging arm 13 and the post being formed at the upperen-dof the inner post section 46, the upper end of said inner post sectionbeing straddled or embraced by ears on the arm 13, which in turn areoverlapped by ears on the upper end of a short vertical tube section 47which telescopes over'the upper end of the vertical post sect-ion 48, apivot bolt or screw 49 being passed through the described overlappingportions of the post'section-and the swinging arm 13. Thus a stiff rigidsupport is provided at and contiguous to vthe joint between the post andthe swinging arm 13 which precludes any such lateral movement of saidswinging arm as would prevent limiting the erasing action to aparticular'character and result in rubbing adjacent printed characters.

To prevent loosening of the pivot 49 (which is in the form of a screw orbolt), from the'swinging of the arm 13, various expedients may beresorted to; shown in the drawings, the pivot bolt or screw may bepassed through a bushing 50 against whose ends the screw head and thesecuring nut abut, and a lock nut may be employed. i

T The post sections 46 and 48 are detachably connected by a spring latch51 secured to the outer side of the post section 48 which has a'pinpassing through a hole in, the side of the post section and entershole in the side of the inner post section 46. Thus when desired theswinging eraser-carrying arm 13, along with the inner post section 46,may be removed from thetypewriting machine.

' At its lower end the outer post section is attached to a frame thatcomprises a horizontal base 52 that extends equal distances on oppositesides of the post, and an upwardly and inwardly inclined brace 53 thatreaches from the outer end of the base to the contiguous side of thepost section 48, the two upwardly and inwardly extending braces thusformed being rigidly attached at their upper ends to the post onopposite sides thereof and thus a rigid support ,is provided for'thepost at its lower portion, that eliminates any lateral. movement 'thatThus, as i would be objectionable-to the satisfactory operation of theeraser. Increased stifiness is imparted by extnding a bent portion ofthe base up into the post section 48. At its lower and a bolt'54 isprovided that passes through said inwardly extending portion of the baseand the contiguous sides of the post section 48 and through Verticalportions of the braces 53 and a'lug 55 on the outer side of each of saidvertical portions,

' which lug projects rearwardly from a plate 56 which is rigidly clampedto the rear bar of the machine frame by overhanging lugs 57 and clampingscrews 58. A limited swing of the post 12 backward and forward isdesirable to enable the eraser disk to be brought into proper workingrelation with the paper on theplaten, and the bolt 54 arranged asdescribed provides the necessary pivotal connection for this purpose; Tolimit the outward or rearward swing of the post, a suitable stop isprovided which may consist of a headed projection or screw 59 attachedto the clamp plate 56, and a screw or stitd 60 secured to one of thebraces 53 and projecting so that it will encounter the head of the screw59.

When it is desired to erase a character from the paper on the platen,the spring latch is lifted to free the push rod so that the latter ismoved by the action of its springto its outermost position and the arm13 is swung downward and forward to bring the eraser disk to the platen,the lat-- ter h; '.'ing been partially rotated to bring the line withthe character to .be erased sufiiriently above the printing point of themachine to give access of the eraser disk thereto. With the fingersbearing upon the outer end of' the-arm 13 and caught over the handle ofthe latch 33, and the thumb bearing against the head upon the outer endof the push rod. a slight downward pressure of the lingers will, due tothe bearing of the curved plate 26 upon the platen, result in increasingthe tension of the spring 38, and the friction of the disk and the pushrod '25, so that upon an inward movement of the push rod by the thumbtheeraser disk will be rotated and the portion of the periphery thereof incontact with the character on the paper which it'is desired to erase,will rapidly pass over said character and remove it, the work being donequickly and thoroughly and limited to the character it is desired toerase. If there are carbon sheets, each sheet in succession after theoriginal may be similarly operated on. it being necessary merely to rockthe swinging arm 13 to carry it and the erasing mechanism out of the wayfor turning over each sheet after it has been acted upon and swingingthe arm back again in position for use on the succeeding sheets; It isvery important that an erasing device should be adaptable for erasers onthe menace carbon sheets, and I have accordingly met ing machines, thecombination of a rotatable eraser, a support upon which it is freelyrotatable, and eraser-rotating means acting directly upon the eraser andmoving cross wise of the eraser axis.

2. In an erasing mechanism for typewriting machines, the combination ofa rotatable eraser, eraser-rotating means acting directly upon theeraser, said means consisting of a reciprocating slide, and a supportfor the eraser and its operating means movably attached to thetypewriting machine whereby the eraser may be placed in and removed fromposition for use.

3. In an erasing mechanism for typewriting machines, the combination ofa rotatablc eraser disk, a support upon which the disk is freelyrotatable, and means for rotating the same acting directly upon theperiphery of said disk and having frictional contact with the disk andbeing free therefrom. a

In an erasing mechanism for typewriting-machines, the combination or" arotatable eraser disk, and a slidable rod having frictional contact withthe disk.

5. In an erasing mechanism for typewriting machines, the combination ofa rotatable eraser disk, means for rotating the same act-- lug directlyupon the periphery of said disk, said disk being supported for movementtoward and from said rotating means.

6. In an erasing mechanism for typewriting machines, the combination ofa rotatable eraser disk, and means for rotating the same acting directlyupon the periphery of said disk, said disk being supported for movementtoward and from said rotating means, and a spring acting upon the disksupport.

7. In an erasing-mechanism for-typewriting machines. the combination ora movable supporting member mounted on the typewritingvuachine. aneraser disk, an arm carrying said disk movably connected with saidsupporting member, disk rotating means mounted in said member directlyengaging the disk. a spring acting on the disk-carrying arm, and aplaten engaging plate mov-.

ably connected with said supporting member having contact with saidspring.

j by said arm.

ing machines, the combination of an eraser disk, means for rotating thedisk having frictional contact directly with the disk, and a pivot forthe disk upon which it is detachably mounted having a radial projection,the disk having an opening corresponding to the configuration of thepivot.

10. In an erasing mechanism for typewriting machines, the combination ofa jointed support comprising a post rigidly attached to the machineframe at the rear side thereof, and an arm pivoted to, the free end ofthe post to swing to and from position for use, and eraser mechanismcarried 11. In an erasing mechanism for typewriting machines, thecombination of a 1o1nted su port comprising a post attached to themacine frame, and an arm swinging to and from position for use, an erasercarried bysaid arm, and an eraser operating slide mounted in said arm. II 12. In an. erasing mechanism for type- Writing machines, thecombination of a ointed support comprising a post attached to themachine frame, and an arm swlngmg to and from position for use, aneraser carried by said arm, an eraser operating slide bar mounted insaidarm, a spring forinoving said slide bar in one direction, and a latchfor said slide bar to hold it against the action of said spring.

18. In an erasing mechanism for typewriting machines, the combination ofa rotatable eraser disk, a support upon which it is freely rotatable,and a reciprocating disk rotating bar having a grooved portion to engagethe periphery of the disk.

14. In an erasing mechanism for typewriting machines, the combination ofa jointed support comprising a post at the rear of the machine, and anarm pivoted to the top of the post and swinging backward and forward, anerasing mechanism carried by said arm, and a post-supporting meansallowing limited backward and forward movement of said jointed support.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM KLINE. Witnesses i S. S. SUTHERLAND, H. N. GURLEY.

